Rittman Recreation Center rises next to the high school

Published: January 13, 2001 12:00 AM

Despite the cold weather, a modern recreation center should be added to the list of Rittman landmarks by this summer.

If all goes according to plan, said city manager Bob Kellogg, the new recreation center and natatorium are scheduled to open about the first of June.

Derek Lemmon, project superintendent for Ben Imhoff Construction, the Orrville company building the facility, commented while at work on site, "We've been spoiled the last few years. This is like the old winters where it gets cold and stays cold. Still, the project is going well, but it takes longer, there are extra steps necessary with the temperatures as they are. The masonry will freeze unless we tarp it in and keep heaters going. Right now, we're putting the roof on the gymnasium. The pool is already in and later we'll start the structural steel for the swimming pool building."

The approximately 30,000-square-foot structure located next to Rittman High School will have a six-lane, competition-size, heated indoor pool, a children's pool, basketball/volleyball courts and a rubberized indoor running track with weight and exercise machines located in its center.

According to Kellogg, Rittman has been looking at construction of such a facility since 1989 but the money wasn't available until recently with help, from among other sources, in the form of a $300,000 challenge grant from the Greater Wayne County Foundation that was matched by community donations. The facility, Kellogg said, will cost approximately $3,283,000.

Lemmon said, "For a city this size, this is a great facility. It's coming along a little slower than expected because of the weather but we're continuing to work."